43 year old Italian artist, Stefano Furlani, creates amazing characters and scenes with stones carefully selected for their color, shape, and size, found by him and his son on the beaches of the Italian town of Fano. It all started with an amusing game of finding stones with unusual shapes and geometries, but then they began to start putting them together, assembling more and more detailed and elaborate compositions. But their pieces built during the day were destroyed by the evening. So Stefano got the idea to paste them on a wooden base to cherish their little artworks for life. The designs range from animals, to famous music and movie stars, and to underwater scenes.

Furlani’s work has been acclaimed in Italy, written about in London, and a new show will be appearing in Germany this fall. His efforts began as a way to entertain his young son Davide on the beach in their town. Now he takes his skills to school in Italy where he helps young disabled children create their own work of sea–stone art. In July, he will be coming to Massachusetts For his first exhibition in the U.S. How I wish I could go to see his marvelous stone arts. The following are some of his creations.

My friend emailed me this article, and it is such a beautiful place that I couldn’t help but post it here to share with you. I did take a trip to Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, and a few other places in China, but this place from the pictures looks so serene. I hope I can make a trip to visit this beautiful place soon.

Hubei, China is such a beautiful place, and even though it is not often mentioned by people,but it has a reputation. There is an area often called “Little Tibet in Hubei,” “Shangri-La in Hubei,” or “Legend of the Secret.”CNN regards it as “China’s most beautiful wonderland!” China’s National Geographic calls it “the most beautiful place in China!”

Yes, it is the city of Enshi!
When you go there, you will find it is not of this world, like a paradise or a wonderland.

Spring flowers bloom like a piece of brocade,

Summer feels more like a “natural air-conditioned room” – it is a veritable “cool city!”

In the autumn, fir and maple trees weave a beautiful picture from heaven.

Winters are snow-capped, like that of Northern scenery, when the area seems to become a “Chinese version of the Alps!”

Numerous sceneries are hidden here.

The beauty will take your breath away!

The magnificent scenery of Enshi Canyon, about 108 km long! It is as marvelous as the Grand Canyon in the USA.

It is amazing to see both cliffs and peaks here. Walking on the 300-meter-high cliff promenade, I think I would be trembling.

One Incense Pillar is a thin pillar standing between the cliffs and peaks of the 108-kilometer-long Enshi Canyon. This incense stick-shaped peak is 150 meters tall, but only four meters wide, which makes it incredible that it stands at all, let alone that it’s survived several major earthquakes.

Qing River in Enshi.

Tenglong Cave is believed to be the longest single cave system in the world. The cave entrance is 74 m (243 ft) and 64 m (210 ft) wide, leading to 59.8 km (37.2 mi) of passageways. An underground network of streams runs for 16.8 km (10.4 mi) whilst the cave is the source of the Qingjiang River.

The old abbot was disappointed and demanded: “You will all go down to the Mountain tomorrow. He who took the beads can stay if he wants to.”

The next day, six of the disciples packed their things and said goodbye. Only one stayed behind.

The abbot asked him: “Where is the rosary?”

The disciple said, “I did not take it.”

“Why did you stay behind to be called a thief, if you did not take it?”

The disciple said: “We have been suspicious of each other. Someone needs to bear the responsibility so that the rest of us will get relief. Besides, the rosary is gone, but the Buddha is still with us.”

The old abbot smiled and took the rosary from within his robes and put it on the disciple.

This story gives me a lot of enlightenment.

Not all things need to be made clear.

Some things are more important than the ability to speak clearly: the ability to bear and act; the resolve to do so; to reverse; to change; to think of themselves, but also others; to take care of the overall situation, this is the law.